Memories in snow
by Robotkitty5848
Summary: Just some short one-shots about the season known as winter. Written for The Village Square's 12 days of Christmas
1. Gifts

Oak Tree town was always busiest during this time of the year. Snow fell peaceful throughout the entire village. People were rushing through town, hoping to get all of their shopping done. With Christmas coming up, everyone wanted to get presents for all of their loved ones. Minori Ginger was one of these people. The twenty-six year old farmer walked to the depot, bag full of goods to sell. Hopefully she'll be able to buy all of her friends presents with the money she made from her crops and animal products.

"Good morning, Mrs. Minori," The trader of Silk country, Asche, greeted her with a signature smile, "I'm sure that you are going to have a wonderful Christmas. Now let's see what you have to sell to me today."

After selling what she could, she bought a few things for the people of Oak tree, and went over to Wheat Country's booth to buy some ingredients. She wanted to make something special for her family this year.

* * *

Fritz worked at his farm, excitement running through his very core. He couldn't wait until tonight. He could almost hear the excited voices of his children calling his name. Tonight was Christmas Eve, so he knew that his wife was preparing something special for their Christmas dinner with their kids. It's been about five years since their marriage and he loved the brunette farmer dearly. He had his gift for her in his house. He knew very well that she would love his gift since he knew she wanted one for years. It would be very useful for her farm.

After taking care of his farm chores, he decided to take a break at the restaurant. He enjoyed talking to the chef, Raeger, whenever he had free time. They have both been in town for a long time. He almost laughed at how jealous he used to get when Raeger would be hit on by _sooooo_ many girls. Now he had a wife and kids, while the chef was still single.

"Hey Fritz. I already know why you're here. Sit down, I'll cook up something for you." Raeger waved at the ginger-haired farmer as he entered the food place. Fritz could see the Giorgio and Elise were also having their lunch here. If his wife were here, all of Oak Tree town's farmers would all be in one place. Well, except for Madam Eda. Fritz still remembered her death like it was yesterday. It was hard to believe that she's been gone for six years. Has time really gone by that quickly? Heck, he could still remember when he met Minori at Eda's place. Teaching her how to dive in the river.

"Uh Fritz," Raeger waved a hand in front of his face, "Back to Earth. I'm very busy today."

"Sorry about that man," Fritz sat down at the nearest table, "Bring me the biggest thing you have. I've gotten really lucky with my crops so I can pay your price."

"Well then."

* * *

The next morning

"Mama! Wake up!"

"It's Christmas!"

The excited voices of Luna and Link woke Minori the next morning. She opened her eyes as the red-haired twins put their chins on the edge of the bed. She could see the excitement in their eyes and could recall her own childhood of opening presents.

"I'm up. I'm up. Where's your father?" she wiped the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"He's downstairs," Luna held her hands, "He said to come get you."

"Come on, Mama," Link took her hand, "Everyone's waiting for you."

When Minori got down stairs, her husband held a huge box in his hands with holes all over it. She could see her name on the tag and wondered what could be in such a large box. She grabbed it from him, surprised by how light it was.

"You should open your gift first," Fritz looked at his wife with a huge smile, "You're love it."

"I'd love anything from you. Our marriage itself is a gift."

Minori lifted the lid and got the surprise of her life. Tears came to her eyes as she lifted up the gift from the box. In her hands was a small black puppy with a bright pink bowtie on a collar around her neck. The puppy licked her face, her tail wagging.

"Awwww, Fritz, I love her."

"I knew that you've been wanting a dog to help you with herding so I got this little one. You should give her a name."

"Doggie," Link and Luna said at the same time, both wanting to pet the newest member to their family.

"I like Ruffle." Minori hugged her new puppy, "Welcome to our home Ruffle. I promise to love you forever."


	2. Starry Night

Rio couldn't help but feel nervous as she stood outside of Rod's house. The cottage suddenly seemed so much smaller, that if she went inside, she would be smothered. It was only six in the morning. She didn't even know if the pet seller was even up. Would he even want to go with her? She remembered when he caught Allen whispering in her ear a few days ago. The hair stylist had been admitting his love for Yuri, but Rod didn't know that. He had left after that and hasn't spoken to her since. She thought that maybe Allen would tell Rod what was really going on.

 _You can do this! Just knock on his door._

Taking a deep breath, Rio knocked on the door. The blonde waited a few minutes, but Rod didn't answer. Her heart sank. Maybe he was still upset. She had never seen Rod as mad as he was at the salon. But as she was about to leave, the door of the cottage opened.

"Good morning! How are yo-" He frowned, "Oh hi Rio. What you doing here this early?"

"I uh-" She stuttered, "Was just wondering if you wanted to go to the Starry Night tomorrow night?"

"Shouldn't you be asking Allen that?"

She winced at the pain in his voice, "Rod. What you saw wasn't what you think. I don't like him that way. He was telling me that he was thinking of asking Yuri to it. Besides if I wanted to take him instead, would I be at your house?"

"You've got a point," he looked down at his feet in disappointment, "I'm sorry that I drew the wrong conclusion."

"It's fine. As long as you understand, then we shouldn't have a problem," Rio put her hands on his shoulders, "We all make mistakes, Rod. So do you want to go with me, or do you not?"

"Oh I do. Don't worry about a thing. I'll be at your house at seven tomorrow night. I guess I should apologize to Allen too. I kind of said some things to him that I probably shouldn't have."

* * *

"Hey Rio! It's Rod! I'm coming in if that's alright!"

"Ok!"

Rio was wearing a puffy white coat and a blue scarf that matched her eyes. She hoped that Rod didn't think she was overdressed. It was the middle of winter, but it wasn't as cold out tonight. She had a feeling that a particular deity had something to do with it.

"You look great," Rod gushed, "Shall we go?"

She took his arm, "Gladly. I'm ready to watch some stars."

* * *

When they reached the top of the mountain, Rio couldn't help staring at the sky. The brightness of the stars drew the farmer in and she opened her mouth in awe. It really was a gorgeous sight.

"Those stars are really pretty, but not as beautiful as you," Rod commented, "I'm sorry if that sounds too awkward. I wanted to sound cool. I guess I should work on that a bit, haha."

"You should just be yourself."

"I guess you're right. Man, we should have brought a camera. I could brag to Allen that I did this with a cute girl like you. I really do think you're cute."

"Thank you, Rod. I'm glad I could see the stars with you," Rio kissed his cheek, "Thank you for coming with me tonight."


	3. Blizzard

Rio looked outside of her window with a frown. The newspaper didn't mention that there was going to be a blizzard. Had she known, she would have prepared herself and the farm better. She didn't have a greenhouse, so her plants would just have to survive the giant snowstorm. The farmer was more concerned for her cows and sheep. She was unsure of whether they had enough food or water. Grabbing her coat and scarf, she went to open the door. She just about put her hand on the knob when she felt another's on her shoulder.

"Where do you think you're going?" A grumpy voice alerted her of her husband. She swirled to see Allen glaring at her.

"Outside."

"I can see that. Did you honestly think I'd let you go out during a blizzard?"

"But my animals," Rio pouted at him cutely, "I'll be careful."

"No means no. Your animals will be fine. Even if they get sick, you can just cure them. If you get sick, then nobody will be able to help them."

"Fine. I'll stay inside."

"Excellent," he put his arm around her, "Now why don't we spend the day in bed together?"

Rio reluctantly followed him to their bed. After they both climbed in, Allen turned off the lamp and put his glasses on the nightstand. The redhead turned to Rio after stretching, "Since there's a storm, why don't we sleep for a bit longer?"

An idea sprung in the young farmer's mind. She'd have to be very careful if she wanted it to work. It would require him to fall asleep. She wasn't expecting him to put his arm around her. It would be hard to move it and not wake the stylist up. She waited for his breathing to go soft, and wiggled slightly. After a while, she could tell that he was asleep. Since her eyes adjusted to the dark, she could see Allen's sleeping face clearly. He looked different when he slept. His face seemed softer and didn't look as arrogant.

She couldn't let herself get distracted, and moved his arm slowly, checking every so often if he woke. The Harvest Goddess must be smiling down on her because he didn't seem to notice. She successfully got his arm off and slowly got out of the bed, making sure that it didn't shake too much. Rio let out a sigh of relief of how easy it was. She tip-toed to the door, keeping quiet. She put her coat back on and wrapped her scarf back around her neck. She opened the door slowly, hoping that the sound of the wind or sudden cold wouldn't wake Allen up. He didn't seem to have moved an inch.

Rio let out a sigh as she closed the door. She felt bad about not telling him the truth, but it was too late to back out now. Rio was quite stubborn about these types of things. She would risk her own health if it made her animals feel better. She was only going to take ten minutes. . .

* * *

Allen yawned as soon as he opened his eyes. It was still as dark as when he and Rio went back to sleep, so maybe he only slept for a few minutes. He looked at the clock and could see the blurry numbers. It was now eight in the morning. He slept for two hours. But something didn't feel right. He turned the lights on and put his glasses back on. To his surprise, he was all alone in the house.

"Rio? Where are you?"

His eyes narrowed as he realized what happened. She must have snuck outside when he was asleep! After he clearly told her not to go outside. He wanted to go out to see where she went, but he was hesitant to go into that blizzard. She couldn't have gotten very far. She must be in the barn or coop. He felt a bit hurt that she went against his warnings. He didn't want her to be harmed. Didn't she see that? He figured he may as well make some coffee while waiting for her. And boy was she going to get a scolding.

* * *

Rio opened the door slowly, satisfied that the lights were off. Allen must have stayed asleep through the morning. She sneak back over to the bed, but froze. She didn't see anyone there. Where in the world was her husband? He wouldn't have left the house during this kind of weather. She knew him very well. She jumped as the lights blared on.

"Welcome home, Honey," she heard a voice hiss. She saw that he was sitting at the table, facing her.

"How long have you been up, Allen?"

"That's not important," He looked mad, "You went outside when I specifically told you not to. Don't you care about my feelings at all? If you had gotten hurt out there I don't know what I'd do."

She looked down, ashamed of herself, "I'm sorry, Allen. I really wanted to make sure that my animals were ok. I'm sure that you would have done the same in my shoes. I won't do it again. Can you forgive me?" She pouted her lip and gave him puppy-dog eyes.

He grabbed her hands, "Of course I can. It's hard to stay mad at someone as adorable as you, princess."

Rio smiled, "Thank you. So can we cuddle now?"

Allen laughed as he released her hands, "Sorry, Honey, but you missed your chance." He smirked at her, before turning back to his coffee. Rio stared at him with annoyance. Some people never do change.


	4. Flowers

Lillian checked the request board with a smile. The young farmer liked doing requests for the villagers of Bluebell. They were like family to her, and there was something special about making people smile. Some requests were easier than others, like wanted mushrooms or milk. When Lillian was about to finish one of the harder ones, it make the look on everyone's face even more worth it.

"Looks like Cam needs flowers," she pulled the piece of paper off of the billboard. She read that he needed two red magic flowers. She looked into her bag, but she didn't have any. She had a bunch of blue magic flowers. She knew that wouldn't be enough. The cat lover was a florist, so he could be very picky about which flowers to use. She admired his vision and it was one of the things that she liked about him. She fell in love with him after she saw how much he cared about the village.

Getting onto her horse, she rode off into the mountain to find the flowers in his request. She knew of many different hiding spots, so she hoped that she would find the flowers. The red wild flowers were usually hard to find, so she hoped that the special spots would be good to her today. To her relief, she ended up finding two of them. She looked back at the request paper to make sure that the quality of them would be good enough for Cam. She didn't want to have to end up spending the whole day looking for them. She had planned on going fishing for the rest of the day, since summertime was the best time for fishing.

"Time to bring these to Cam," She told herself before jumping back onto Epona.

* * *

Cam shook his head, annoyed. How could he have forgotten that he didn't have enough flowers? As a florist, it was his job to. He had planted as much as he could, but he probably should have checked. He stood in front of his stand with a bit of annoyance. He couldn't sell flowers today, but boy did he have a bunch of unused seeds. There was no way that the sunflowers he had would be able to grow before the season ends. Fall was quickly approaching. He knew he should be positive that his birthday was coming up, but he was angry at himself for making such a silly mistake.

Hooves reminded him that he wasn't alone anymore. He glanced up just in time to see Lillian getting down from her horse. He couldn't help the blush that got on his face whenever the farm girl was near him. She was beautiful to him, her eyes reminding him of gentians. Her long brown hair that reached her shoulders. He knew that she was very popular, so he wanted to confess his feelings. Which is why he needed her to bring him the flowers.

"Oh Cam!" Lillian called out his name, "I was able to complete your request. Here are the flowers you wanted."

He took them from her hands with a nod, "Thank you. This is really embarrassing for me to ask as a florist. I didn't realize that I ran out of flowers. I should give you your reward. Here you go."

She exchanged the flowers for the can of tea. She gave him a smile, "Thank you. I'll see you later."

"Lillian, wait."

"What is it?"

"Could you visit my shop after six," he put his hands behind his head, "There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Sure. See you at six."

* * *

Lillian walked over to Cam's shop after she was done with her chores. She checked the time as she made it to the flower shop. It was a few minutes before he got off, so she decided to sit at one of the tables outside of the cafe. She gave Cam a nod before ordering something from Laney.

When Cam's shop closed, the florist walked over to her. He had his hands behind his back.

"So what did you need, Cam?"

"Are you interested in anyone? If you're not, I was thinking that maybe we could go out," he pulled the bouquet he was holding behind his back. Examining the flowers, she noticed that they were red. Was this why he wanted the flowers. She was touched.

"I'm not dating anyone, so sure. I'd like us to go out." She took the bouquet and kissed Cam on his cheek, "This was a really nice present. Thank you."


	5. Cookies

The scent of chocolate filled the air when Minori Ginger took the pan of cookies out of the oven. She closed her eyes after she placed them on the counter and smiled. It gave the farmer pleasant memories of her childhood. Baking treats with her mother, while waiting for her father to get home. They would go on picnics and have time as a family. She couldn't help but be envious of her own mom. She wanted a family one day. A husband to wait for and children to help bake desserts for all of them. Eda had been the closest thing she had to family.

She opened her eyes with a frown. It was years since that snowy winter day when she first found out. She had gotten over it with time, but it still saddened her to this day. She missed the old lady dearly and took care of the left side of the farm in her honor. She had heard many stories about Madam Eda's life. She was touched when the older farmer said she was like a daughter to her. She was the first person that Minori had met besides Veronica.

Minori has lived in Oak Tree town for almost three years now. She could not believe that time had gone by so quickly. It seemed like just yesterday when she and Fritz went swimming together in the river. On that day, she ended up meeting her best friend. Fritz was like the energetic brother that she never had. He was very talkative and very open, so she got along with him greatly. Elise was a completely other story.

When Minori first came into town, the wealthy farmer had gotten on her nerves. It was annoying having to have Elise judge her and call her low class. It wasn't her fault her family was like that. Elise herself didn't even do the farm work herself, so it irritated Minori. She had no right to talk. _She_ didn't have to worry about getting dirt on her clothes. But as time went on, Elise had changed. She had learned to become more humble and even watched a cow being born. It was nice to see the change in her characteristics.

Something else that changed was Minori's feelings for Raeger. When they first met, Minori thought that he was cute, but couldn't hold a conversation with him that long. He was a bit intimidating, but not in a harsh way. In the past couple of weeks, she noticed that her heart would beat like crazy when he talked to her. She hoped that he felt the same way as her. So she wanted to confess her him. These cookies would be a part of the plan

* * *

"Morning Minori," Raeger smiled at her when she entered the restaurant, "My favorite customer came in on my birthday. I'm not open today, but I can serve you something if you want me to."

"It's fine. I wanted to give you something." She held out the bag of cookies, "I made these and I want to know what you think."

"Alright," he took a bit and chewed slowly. She couldn't help how nervous she was. He was a professional cook and she was just a farmer. Her cooking wouldn't meet his standards, but she hoped he wouldn't mind.

"So how are they?"

"Pretty good. We might make a baker out of you."

"Thank you. They aren't as good as yours, but I tried."

"Don't worry about that," Raeger gave her a smile, "If you make it, I'll be glad to eat it."

Minori felt relief and joy at his words. One day she would have the courage to finally ask him out. Just like baking cookies, it could take some time, but the results can be sweet.


End file.
